Maybe it'll help to think of it in terms of rhythm and groove, rather than what you use to make it. Sometimes all a recording needs is some picking and strumming, sometimes it needs more. The more time you spend recording and experimenting, the closer you'll come to figuring out what works for you.
I think this is interesting -- it's a live recording done for a radio show, with a couple singers, a quiet fingerpicked guitar, a pedal steel... and a percussionist just barely grazing a snare drum with his fingertips.
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